C.M. Simpson's Blog, page 181

Progress Report - Week 4 July 2014

In contrast to the week before last, last week was a bit of a loss. I was too sick to write or study or do much of anything on both Saturday and Sunday, and the doc prescribed two days off on Monday or Tuesday. You’da thought I could get some writing done on those, but I was truly too sick. The rest of the week was tied up with the new work and study schedule, and much of Saturday was tied up with homework. I’m still recovering from that ear infection, so no sword practice for me on Saturday, either. Not happy with the word production, but hopeful that it will improve as my health improves and I get into the swing of studying around work. Again, we’ll see.
 
Overview
New words produced: 1,052Old words revised: 0Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 0Tier 1 Tasks
Annual 13: Added 43 wordsAnnual 14: Added 1,009 words
Publishing Tasks
Created 2 blog posts for this blog;
New Arrivals
The following ideas arrived this week:

Poem411—Clad in Winter: a haiku about autumn leaves;ShortStory346—Stay of Execution: a piece of flash speculative fiction about an assassin;ShortStory347—Burial of a Madman: a piece of flash science fiction about an angry little girl;ShortStory348—Another Kind of Bridge: a piece of urban fantasy fiction about trolls.

Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 6—the Englyn Cil-Dwrn

An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn cil-dwrn.
The englyn cil-dwrn consists of a three-line verse. The first line has 10 syllables, the second has 7, and the third has three syllables or less. The rhyme is introduced in the seventh, eighth or ninth line of the first line. The fourth syllable of the second lines uses rhyme or consonance to echo the last syllable of the first line. The last line follows the rhyme of the first two lines.
Travelling Through the Black
Between the stars there is nothing but blackThere’s no going back, they singthey sing
The solar winds throughout all space prevailUtter darkness makes hearts racebeating pace
A world within walls of titaniumcoscalium, something toughsteely stuff
Protects, keeps out the freezing death of spaceGives us a place, to draw breathkeeps out death
Grants us travel between the stars, the moons,some living room flung a-farworlds awayWhy don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one englyn cil-dwrn for each day of the week. You can find out more about how to write englyns from the following sites:http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englyn.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/dictionary/englynhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188329/englynhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley/entry/the_measures_of_1/http://dversepoets.com/2012/10/11/formforall-englyn/http://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.htmlhttp://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.html

Progress Report - Week 3 July 2014

The week before last was the best week for the year, so far—production-wise, at least. Even coming down with an ear infection and pulling longer hours on course, I still got over 7,000 words complete for the week. If I could keep this rate of writing for the rest of the year, I’d almost be content, but another semester is about to start, so we will see.Overview
New words produced: 6,966Old words revised: 2,272Works completed: 0Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 253
Tier 1 Tasks
Annual 13: Added 824 wordsAnnual 14: Added 5,755 words
Tier 4 Tasks
TweenNovel1A—Orb Wielder: added 2,272 words
Publishing Tasks Created 1 blog post for this blog;

New Arrivals
The following ideas arrived this week:

Poem403—Orbital Lovers: about finding love amongst the stars;Poem404—Interplanetary Philanthropy: a poem about a rescue mission;Poem405—The Price of Deliberate Ignorance: a poem to increase environmental awareness;Poem406—Taking Care: a poem about taking care of the world;Poem407—The Planets’ Promise: a poem about seeing signs in the stars;Poem408—Dragon is Another Word: a reverse cinquain playing with language – themed around dragons;Poem409—Remembering Revolution: a free-form poem inspired by Bastille Day, and written, of course, on July 14;Poem410—Troll Night: an englyn unodl crwca about trolls;ShortStory333—Moon Justice: a piece of flash science fiction about werewolves and the moon;ShortStory334—The Warehouse Raid: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction set on the pixie dust world;ShortStory335—The Wreck of the Daun Sur Angin: a piece of flash science fiction about the death of a starship;ShortStory336—Birth of the Pixie Prince: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction about the birth of a pixie prince;ShortStory337—Aquapearl Assassin): a piece of flash science fiction set in the world of The Reptile’s Blade;ShortStory338—Troll Congas and the Fey Lord: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction set in the troll-hunter worldShortStory339—An Agent on the Mend:a piece of flash science fiction set in the same world as An Absolute Delight, The Death of Tarkine’s Wrath, and The Pirates and the Whiny Brats;ShortStory340—Rookie Rescue: a piece of flash science fiction that further develops the world of An Absolute Delight.ShortStory341—Morrow’s World: a piece of a flash science-rural fantasy cross featuring colonists and werewolves;ShortStory342—Last Stop—Bryony’s Tether: a piece of flash science fiction about a crash landing;ShortStory343—Prey no More: a piece of flash science fiction about kidnap and ransom;ShortStory344—Scorpion’s Price: a piece of flash science-urban-fantasy fiction about paying the price for a family’s safety;ShortStory345—Adopting Strays: a piece of flash science fiction about rescue and adoption.

Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 5—the Englyn Cyrch

An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn cyrch.The englyn cyrch consists of a four-line verse. Each verse has seven syllables. The final syllables of the first, second and fourth lines rhyme. The last syllable of the third line rhymes with the second, third or fourth syllable of the last line.
Full-Moon Frolic
Pixies dance in the moonlightUnicorns romp with horns brightDancing the long night awayDancing, a magical sight
From the forest, satyrs creepBring their pipes, their wine long-steepedAmidst fern-lined magic stillsLaughter fills the forest deeps
Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one englyn cyrch for each day of the week. You can find out more about how to write englyns from the following sites:http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englyn.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/dictionary/englynhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188329/englynhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley/entry/the_measures_of_1/http://dversepoets.com/2012/10/11/formforall-englyn/http://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.htmlhttp://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.html

Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 4—the Englyn Unodl Crwca

An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn unodl crwca.The englyn unodl crwca consists of a four-line verse. The first line has seven syllables, the second has seven, and the third has ten, and fourth line has six. The first, second and fourth lines rhyme, and they rhyme with the seventh, eighth or ninth syllable in the third line.
Night-time Hopes, Daytime Dreams
In the dark, the headlights gleamSlice the night-time like a screamLet no man know just what you dream, tonight,For nothing is what it seems
Darkness sometimes is your friendDaylight nightmares brings, not ends,Sometimes it’s best to keep hidden awayThe secrets which courage lend
When the dawn comes, bold and brightChase away the doubting nightBringing out into broad daylight, your friends,Those who give you strength to fight
Not all daylight nightmares bringSome draws out the precious thingsThe only ones our hearts will sing to praisewho keep our spirits rising.Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one englyn unodl crwca for each day of the week. You can find out more about how to write englyns from the following sites:http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englyn.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/dictionary/englynhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188329/englynhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley/entry/the_measures_of_1/http://dversepoets.com/2012/10/11/formforall-englyn/http://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.htmlhttp://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.html

Progress Report: Week 2 July 2014

This week work and studying for next semester took a lot of time, but at least I wasn’t sick. Writing got done, so I’m slowly catching up on where I wanted to be for the next release.
 Overview
New words produced: 5,359Old words revised: 2,894Works completed: 0Works revised: 10Covers created: 0Works published: 0Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Bloggery: 417 Tier 1 Tasks
Annual 13: Added 1,314 wordsAnnual 14: Added 5,445 words
Tier 4 Tasks
TweenNovel1A—Orb Wielder: 1,117words
Publishing Tasks
Created 3 blog posts for this blog
New Arrivals
The following ideas arrived this week:

Poem401—Allies in the Dark: a poem about were-creatures;Poem402—Long-Lived, the Dragon Lies: another poem about a dragon;SciFanNovel2A—The Way of the Kesserak-Ra: a science fiction-fantasy blend about dynasties, dragons, and fantasy battle.ShortStory327—The Full Moon’s Grace: a piece of flash horror fiction;ShortStory328—Weed Dragons of the Medilo: a piece of flash science fiction about a researcher in the Medilo swamp;ShortStory329—Pixies in the Machine: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction about the pixie dust world;ShortStory330—Ice Shards and Fire Flowers: a piece of flash science fiction about the dangers that colonists might face;ShortStory331—Braving the Storm: another piece of flash science fiction set on a world of deadly lightning storms; ShortStory332—Vengeance Oaths and Unicorns: a piece of urban fantasy fiction set in the pixie dust world—this time with unicorns.

Australian Birds: Spur-Wing Plovers or Masked Lapwings (Vanellus miles)

These guys are pretty paranoid and very noisy when disturbed, making a kind of 'kak-kak-kak' sound. As you can see, they're very watchful. These ones don't like having their pictures taken and moved rapidly away from the camera.




You can find out more information about spur-wing plovers at the following sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spur-winged_Lapwing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_Lapwing
http://www.mdavid.com.au/birds/maskedlapwings.shtml
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Masked-Lapwing/

Poetry Challenge—Introducing the Englyn: Form 3—the Englyn Unodl Union

An englyn is a form of Welsh or Cornish verse, with a reputation of being hard to master. It has several different variants, all of which are governed by strict rules. This week, we’ll look at the englyn unodl union.The englyn unodl union consists of a four-line verse. The first line has ten syllables, the second has six, and the third and fourth lines have seven. The rhyme is introduced in the seventh, eighth or ninth syllable of the first line, and repeated at the end of the second, third and fourth lines. The first syllable after the rhyme in the first line rhymes with the first part of the second line. Once again, I’ve chosen to make a longer poem from several verses that follow these rules.
The Troll Lord Cometh
The troll lord cometh through the pre-dawn gloamRoaming from the bridge, he mourns,night-time’s loss, the coming dawn,hides within his lair forlorn.
When dusk shrouds the world in soft black and greyAway from the shadows, back,Back away, leave without trackLeave no trace, let no twig crack
For the troll lord wakes hungry from slumberRumbles up, hunts what he seesWhat he scents, shows no mercyEater in the night is he
Hide your children, your livestock, your loved onesRun from the thunderous knockLight does not scare him or shockOnly sunlight turns him to rock
Pray your gods keep you safe, this troll defeatMeet your hopes, hear the bell tollHear your prayers, honour their roleprotect all from this lord troll.Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one englyn unodl union for each day of the week. You can find out more about how to write englyns from the following sites:http://www.volecentral.co.uk/vf/englyn.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/englynhttp://www.poetrysoup.com/dictionary/englynhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188329/englynhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/zoebrigley/entry/the_measures_of_1/http://dversepoets.com/2012/10/11/formforall-englyn/http://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/childrensenglynmilwr.htmlhttp://www.oocities.org/sca_bard/chil...

Progress Report: Week 1 July 2014

This week was one of the most relaxed weeks I’ve had in a while – of course, three days of bed rest, will do that for a week, so perhaps ‘relaxed’ isn’t the right word. I also studied for next semester, played a roleplaying game, and went to sword practice. Not as much writing got done as it should have, but it was a good week.OverviewNew words produced: 5,319Old words revised: 0Works completed: 18 (18 individual works for incorporation into 2 others)Works revised: 0Covers created: 0Works published: 1 (2 platforms)Works submitted: 0Competitions Entered: 0Tier 1 Tasks
Annual 13: Added 843 wordsAnnual 14: Added 3,239 words
Publishing Tasks
Created 1 blog post for this blog;Created 1 blog posts for the C.M. Simpson Publishing blog;
New Arrivals
The following ideas arrived this week:

Chapbooks14I-K: more in the wheelchair series;DarkFantasy15A—The Salamander Chronicles: see notesPoem392—Paths of Light and Dark: a poem about choices and ways to view life;Poem393—Revelations: a poem about how things are revealed;Poem394—Voices in the Mist-CandyReturns: a horror poem about a hunt;Poem395—Long Ago in a Distant Life: a poem about alternate personal histories;Poem396—The Ghost that Stands Between Us: about things that keep people apart;Poem397—Childhood Memory Betrays: about the betrayal of a childhood memory;Poem398—Two Psis-A Poem for Two Voices: a poem about the contrasting experiences raised in two different environments;Poem399—Mother Stuff: a poem about a mother’s worry;Poem400—Xenobiologists in the Medilo: another poem about the Medilo Swamp;ShortStory318—Demon’s Bane: a piece of flash fantasy fiction about a battle against a demon.ShortStory319—Longevity: a piece of flash speculative fiction about people living on the shadowy side of life;ShortStory320—Neighbourhood Faux-Pas: a piece of flash paranormal urban fiction about neighbourhood relations and hopping vampires;ShortStory321—World-Maker: a piece of flash science fiction about the relocation of a world;ShortStory322—A Psi Becomes: a piece of flash science fiction about a psi growing into his talentShortStory323—Illicit Cargo: a piece of flash science fiction about an undercover operative and a space freighter;ShortStory324—Bus-Stop Troll-Bait: a piece of flash urban paranormal fiction about a teenager and a troll;ShortStory325—Medical Extraction: a piece of flash science fiction about an emergency extraction with medical complications;ShortStory326—A Solution to the Dust-Jumper Problem: a piece of flash urban fantasy fiction set in the pixie-dust world

Australian Spiders: Australian Wolf Spider

We keep getting these little guys and gals coming inside. I don't know what particular species this one is, but it is some kind of wolf spider. I can't tell if it's a Lycosidae or a Venatrix (and if that sounds like some vampire clan, it's not my fault).



More information on wolf spiders can be found at the following sites:

http://www.lycosidae.info/identificat...
http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/pchew_...
http://www.findaspider.org.au/index.htm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/austral...
http://www.australasian-arachnology.o...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_spider
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Wolf-S...